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Satellites have spotted gashes in the damaged Arecibo Observatory, which is slated to be decommissioned by the United States’ National Science Foundation (NSF).
The 57-year-old radio telescope supported two cable failures which made his massive dish too unstable to be repaired safely, according to the NSF. Cable failures also damaged the massive dish, which stretches 305 meters in diameter, carving holes in its delicate metal panels.
These holes in the telescope’s large dish and vegetation growing under the historic technology can be seen from space in a new high-resolution satellite image taken by the Dove satellite constellation operated by Planet, a California-based company. The image was produced at the request of Nature, according to a statement.
Related: The loss of the Arecibo observatory would create a hole that cannot be filled
The NSF will decommission the telescope due to the damage, the agency said at a press conference on November 19.
“According to technical assessments, even attempts to stabilize or test the cables could accelerate the catastrophic failure,” Ralph Gaume, director of the astronomy division of the NSF, said at the press conference. “Engineers cannot tell us the safety margin of the structure, but they have informed NSF that the structure will collapse on its own in the near future.
Maxar’s WorldView satellite also recently photographed the observatory from space.
In the satellite images, you can see small green spots dotting the gray dish. This greenery is the local plant life in Puerto Rico, where the observatory is located, growing under the dish and seen through the gashes left by the two cable failures that occurred in August and November.
When the first cable slipped, it struck panels around the edge of the telescope’s antenna; when the second cable broke, it tore large tears inside the dish, according to nature.
Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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